PSYCH: "Lassie Did a Bad Bad Thing"Review

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Shawn and Gus must clear the name of their rival.

By Jonah Krakow

Psychic detective Shawn Spencer and his partner Burton "Gus" Guster love to wreak havoc on the Santa Barbara Police Department and there's no one they have more fun with than stick-in-the-mud Detective Carlton Lassiter. In this episode of PSYCH, Lassiter is accused of murdering a criminal inside the police station and the boys must put aside their differences and help clear the detective's name (while still driving him crazy in the process).

There are a few contrivances in the murder mystery genre that are generally accepted, (i.e. lights conveniently going out at the exact time of the murder, an innocent suspect's fingerprints found on the murder weapon, a verbal threat uttered within earshot of everyone prior to the murder.) But even allowing for those clichés, much of this episode still seemed like something we've seen before.

The episode got going when Lassiter arrested a big time gang member and brought him into the station where all the other officers publicly lauded him. Immediately afterwards, he was informed that the sneaky FBI agents (who should've just gone all the way and sported handlebar moustaches) cut a deal with the suspect in exchange for becoming a witness for the state. Furious, Lassiter had to accept that his hard work was down the drain and that he was handing custody of the suspect over to two Snidley Whiplash's dressed like Feds. (Seriously, do sympathetic FBI agents even exist on TV?) And that's when the lights went out, a gunshot was heard and Lassie was found standing over a dead body with a smoking gun.

Normally, my favorite part of PSYCH isn't the mystery, which is good, because this one wasn't the most original. Rather, the best thing about the show is the interplay between Shawn and Gus. It's always enjoyable to see how they frustrate yet endear everyone who comes into contact with them. The fact that Shawn's dad, Chief Vick and Det. O'Hara haven't kicked them out of Santa Barbara by now is a tribute to their personalities and investigating skills. And yet, aside from a funny Flashdance-inspired dance routine and some quips at the expense of a witness unfortunately named Kenny Loggins, the comedy in this episode seemed a bit forced. Sure, the duo's off-the-wall dialogue is part of their charm and their investigative process, but this time out, their non-sequitors didn't seem natural. I enjoy a Thundercats reference as much as the next geek, but it's not as funny if it doesn't make sense in the scene. The guys could just as well have shouted "Spoon!" and it would've meant the same thing. (Okay, bad example.)

That being said, this wasn't an awful episode, just not one of the series' best. We've seen way too many shows with crooked cops, tunnel-visioned Internal Affairs officers and plenty of Feds taking cases away from honest cops. But even a mediocre episode of PSYCH is still better than the majority of procedurals out there because of its wit and the charisma of the actors. This was an interesting idea for an episode, but I was hoping it would showcase more original storytelling.